Stars
by Sky-Thorn
Summary: Remus's musings on stars, and one in particular. MWPP Era. Sort of a one-shot in two parts. R&R please, I wanna know if I've got the characters right.


Stars

Remus liked stars. When the stars were out, the full moon wasn't, and he knew he was safe from the awful, painful transformations, at least for a while. He had always stared out of his window at the stars on clear nights, marvelling at the fact that even though some of them were billions of miles away, their light could still fall on this planet. He had even snuck out once, and sat in the little tree house his dad had made for him when he was younger. His parents had panicked when they had found him missing, but had soon found him sat in the tree house, staring up at the stars. He had looked guiltily down at his frantic parents, and had never snuck out again. He contented himself with staring out the window, the stars twinkling faintly in the sky.

Remus had always liked Sirius. The star, not the boy, though he had liked him too, from the minute they first met during the Sorting. As Remus had walked into the Great Hall, a small, scrawny boy in front of him had stumbled. Remus had gone to help him up, but a tall, black-haired boy had got there first. He helped him up, but had smiled at another black-haired boy. This boy had looked over at Remus, and his grey eyes had met Remus's golden brown ones. Their shared look had contained a flash of fear and nervousness from both of them, and Remus frowned and looked away, not understanding why this popular, handsome boy would be scared of the Sorting too. They had proceeded down the Great Hall, and had waited to be Sorted.

After Remus had been Sorted, he sat down in the first seat he found at the Gryffindor table, which just happened to be next to the grey-eyed boy from earlier. He had smiled, and offered his hand. 'Sirius Black.'  
Remus had smiled, and shook the offered hand. 'Remus Lupin.'  
They had been joined by the other black-haired boy, who introduced himself as James Potter. Soon the three of them, along with the scrawny boy, who was called Peter Pettigrew, had become firm friends.

However, the star Sirius, the Dog Star, had always held a special significance for Remus. His father had pointed it out to him when he was 5, as they lay sprawled out on their backs in the Lupin back garden, the heat from the summer sun still warming the earth beneath them.

While the stars had held the promise of safety from the moon, the Dog Star held a different promise. When Remus saw the Dog Star, he thought not only of the safety of starlight, but of long, hot summers days, and warm, dark summers nights. The Dog Star represented everything good about summer, in Remus's opinion. When Sirius was out, he was safe.

* * *

Four boys lay sprawled out on the Potter's immaculate lawn, staring at the sky, the stars twinkling above. One shone brighter than the rest, a sign of more hot, sunny days to follow. Sirius was quick to point out his namesake, as Remus suspected he would be. He smiled at Sirius's pride that "his star" was the brightest in the night sky and relaxed on the grass, putting his arms behind his head, copying Sirius as he prattled on about one of the many pranks they had pulled that year. He sighed, cutting Sirius off as he re-lived the moment Snape had been covered in Stinksap. Sirius frowned. 'What you sighing about Moons? Am I boring you?'

Remus smiled at the note of teasing in Sirius's voice. 'Oh no, of course not Pads. No, I was just thinking about the stars. I like the stars. When the stars are out, the moon isn't.'

The three other boys shared slightly worried glances. James spoke up. 'The Full isn't for another 2 weeks Moony, no need to be worried.'

Remus shook his head. 'I'm not worried.' He paused. 'I'm glad I'm with you guys this summer. No need to worry about loosing myself to the wolf. Not with you guys around.'

Peter and James smiled and returned to their stargazing. Sirius held Remus's gaze, their eyes locked for a second, golden brown meeting grey. Remus had never liked grey as a colour much. It reminded him of the moon, and of the bare, grey walls of the cellar in his house, where he usually transformed in the summer holidays. The grey in Sirius's eyes, however, only reminded him of Sirius.

The grey-eyed teen in question smiled a comforting smile. 'We're always here for you Remus, if you need us. Just remember that.'

Remus smiled back, his eyes still locked to Sirius's. 'I know Sirius. Thank you.' Sirius held his gaze for a second longer, his eyes searching for something in Remus's. He obviously found it, and turned back to the other boys, continuing his story. Remus kept looking at Sirius for a second, then returned his gaze to the stars. Yes, when Sirius was out, he was safe.


End file.
